Our grandparents were part of the backbone of our country. They worked hard to bring up their families and prepare them for their future.

Children watched their parents, whether they were aware or not, and learned dedication and the love of family and community from them. Yes, your children learn from you…good or bad.

I’m proud my grandparents were loving Christian people. When they found a neighbor in need, they simply didn’t say how sad or isn’t that too bad. They did something about the situation. My mom often told me stories about them. Grandpa gathered food from the garden and Grandma not only packed it up, she cooked it for them before walking or taking the buggy miles and miles to deliver. And…if clothing was needed, that was acquired too. No one in need went without.

There’s something about the Roberts men and women that makes my heart swell. They would give you the shirt off their backs and the last dollar in their pockets.

So, yes. I’m extremely proud of my grandparents. I could share with you dozens of stories, but that would take many hours. So much love and pride involved with them.

My cousin has written a book and used a photo of my grandparents, with several of their children, on the cover.

I’m so proud of Vicki Collins. Here’s the cover of her book. I’ll post when it’s available, which should be soon.

That’s my mom sitting in Grandma’s lap. The photo of mom looks a lot like one of my sisters!

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About Carol

Carol falls in love with every character she writes in her books. She loves basing them on the good and the bad personalities that make up life. That's what makes them real. Carol feels as though she’s in a movie when visualizing characters and she jumps right onto the page with them. Often the theme of her books is forgiveness. Whether planned or not, forgiveness sneaks its way into her stories. That's okay, because Carol believes forgiving others is essential.
She favors a great story, with slices of twists that cause her to reflect on the problems life throws at us and how we react. Carol believes in happy endings. Humor is a big part of her stories and daily routine, and yes, she laughs a lot! Travel is one of her favorite things to do. She dabbles in art, always has popcorn and hot chocolate on hand.
Carol is a small-town girl at heart and her stories are peppered with a dose of humor, based on Southern roots. She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and family.

Carol, what wonderful grandparents and what a wonderful family legacy to have memorialized in this book!!
If I want a book about my special grandparents–both sides–I’d have to be the one to write it. I suppose it’s on the list :-).
My father told me about his parents taking in a boy named Woody during the depression because his family couldn’t afford to keep him. The church priest asked during mass one Sunday if anyone could take him in and my grandparents raised their hands. My grandfather always had a job working as a manager for the A&P grocery store–so plenty of food. That story always blew my mind because they already had 8 kids!!
It was a different time, but still…
Thank you for choosing this topic and sharing your story!

Thanks, Stephanie! The book isn’t entirely about my grandparents, but a history of the Appalachian. Funny you mention your grandparents taking in a young boy. My grandparents did the same. I think back then, people had such big hearts and wouldn’t let a child go without a home. No matter how large their family, there was always room for another. Love stretches beyond our imagination. 🙂

My parents were busy starting their family during the depression. My father was working away from home so he paid for his tiny rented room and my mother’s apartment. He only came home on weekends. The stories my mom told weren’t exactly that of a young happily married couple. It was a young family that really struggled even though my father worked and had what was considered a good job. My father’s mother worked and she was divorced – horrors! By the time I came along, I had my mother’s mother. She was wonderful and often lived with us. She told me tales of growing up way-back-when! It really never sunk into my head until I started writing the historic westerns that that both my grandmothers were the same age as Alisa and Joseph Coleman’s teen daughters. That gave me a whole different perspective on those lives. I think my father’s mother was born around 1886 and my mother’s mother was born around 1887. But my mother’s mother always seemed to have violets. They bloomed and bloomed for her. It is one of those things that I can’t look at to this day without thinking of her. Oh would she love our modern violets!

I am lucky that one of my relatives put together a complete history of my grandmother’s family. Not a lot was known about my grandfather’s family back in Britain so I took it upon myself to research and write a booklet on the family history. Back when I had more free time! My other grandfather wrote a memoir telling about his childhood that is a real treasure to me.

I never really knew my grandparents. My mother’s parents died when she was a child and my father’s parents were…complicated. Grandpa had Alzheimer’s or dementia (during a time when it was just known as “shell-shock”). He could barely speak and was dependent on my grandmother for all his care: feeding, dressing, bathroom, all of it. Grandma hated my mother so visits were tense and even we kids could feel it, which meant we went two or three times a year and we all dreaded it every time. The most vivid memory I have of visiting my grandparents is seeing my grandfather in a recliner staring at the television. We didn’t dare talk or move in his presence because he would literally have a fit, grunting and throwing things, arms flailing if he noticed us. For little kids, it was an intensely scary scene. So my sisters and I would sit under the kitchen table, hidden by the length of the tablecloth and play dolls quietly until my parents were ready to go home. He passed away when I was around 7. Grandma moved to Florida immediately after the funeral and I never saw her again, although she passed away ten years later.

I do remember one thing my mom always said about her “monster-in-law.” She’d say, “No matter what wrong she’s done in her life and how badly she’s treated me and my kids, for what she did all those years for her husband, her place in heaven is secure.”

The lesson I take from that is “Always be kind.”

You’re very lucky to have fond memories and stories about your grandparents. You must be so proud!

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